Belgium and the Netherlands have a high speed train connecting the major cities, They Fyra. The Italian made train breaks down with minus temperatures. So it doesn't run during very cold times due to the risk involved. They have buses ferrying people across the borders to their connections.....slooooowwww.

Well since the next ones are meant to be built in Russian shipyards, we'll see if they're any better (India has a lot to say on that subject.... cf a certain aircraft carrier). The Mistral class is a COTS design, basically built to French ( or EU) civilian standards. Who knows what happens when it gets cold? So far they're only used in the warm areas of the world anyway.

To put it simply, the French in charge have to do the required repairs under the usual guarantee. Toyota at present is doing thousands of comparable repairs around the globe. The ships simply are faulty, because temperatures below 7 degrees centigrade often are fact in the costline between Brest/Bretagne and Calais. Or look at the Boeing 787 which is in severe trouble at the moment

i also remember French made AS532 Cougar's not wanting to fly so high over Turkish mountains in hot weather (which is why they were immediately replaced by Sikorsky's)

seems the French machine is kind of a diva who wants the perfect weather to operate

I suppose the Turkish jumped onto the chance to make technical failures the reason for the change, but reality is that Turkish Airlines only started buying Airbus airplanes after mighty Franz-Josef Strauss had explained on a visit to Turkey that Airbus only to LESS than 50% French and German to the same extent.

Where is the problem ? It is shrouded in history and roughly means that the French are in a kind of "partnership" with Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Lebanon and Syria and so generally tend to support the Arab countries over the traditional Germany-ally Turkey. PLUS the point that the French have a long-standing "love-affair" with Armenia

They declare to only defend themselves Ever realized that the war ministries of the 1920ies and 30ies have all been replaced by Ministries of Defence or at worst by äm Département für Verteidigung, Bevölkerigsschutz und Schport

And if you sell something, the product should work. If not, it under guarantee and you have to repair it

I suppose the Turkish jumped onto the chance to make technical failures the reason for the change, but reality is that Turkish Airlines only started buying Airbus airplanes after mighty Franz-Josef Strauss had explained on a visit to Turkey that Airbus only to LESS than 50% French and German to the same extent.

Where is the problem ? It is shrouded in history and roughly means that the French are in a kind of "partnership" with Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Lebanon and Syria and so generally tend to support the Arab countries over the traditional Germany-ally Turkey. PLUS the point that the French have a long-standing "love-affair" with Armenia